Food Feature Articles

Food Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

Informative Food franchise articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors.

Franchise shows have experienced an exciting rebirth during the past few years. The annual International Franchise Expo in Washington, D.C., as well as regional shows in the U.S. and international expos, have provided a valuable recruiting venue for generating qualified buyers. But not everybody is jumping aboard. Some franchisors confess they aren't interested in trying this successful, revitalized lead source.
  • Steve Olson
  • 4,867 Reads 1 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,117 Reads 93 Shares
Bret Hooppaw, Luihn Food Systems' director of operations, had an "Aha!" moment when his 19-year-old daughter said she'd applied online for a summer job. When he asked, "Why don't you just go over there and apply in person?" her response was, "Nobody does it that way anymore, Dad." That's when Hooppaw, who helps oversee 90 KFC and Taco Bell locations, realized instant communication technologies are second nature to the Millennial generation--those who make up most of today's frontline employees--who will be his managers 5 years from now and who will be the organization's leaders in the next 5 to 10 years. "I knew I had to find a way to meet them on their ground," he said.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 4,124 Reads 8 Shares
Ricky Warman already knew a lot about finance when he left his job as an investment manager for Prudential Securities in Miami to start a life in franchising in the early 1990s. Warman was a friend of Jenny Craig and started in franchising with nine Jenny Craig weight loss centers. He would go on to try other franchise brands, including Schlotzsky's. Today he's wholly committed to the Papa John's brand, operating 42 pizza locations. (He had 53, but recently sold 11.)
  • John Carroll
  • 9,443 Reads
Today's struggle for more qualified franchise candidates has ignited greater emphasis for companies to produce franchise leads within their systems. Last year, 38 percent of franchisors surveyed "incentivated" franchisees who referred prospects that bought their franchise. This year a whopping 65 percent do, according to the latest Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR). The study also reveals that referral sales continue to produce the highest closing ratios and continue as the number-two sales producer after Internet portals. These powerful stats are cause for more aggressive referral selling.
  • Steve Olson
  • 4,320 Reads 19 Shares
Thomas "Tab" Broome has spent most of his professional life in the restaurant and franchise business. He's seen it all - learned a lot - and is one franchisee who knows how to manage a chain of restaurants. His professional story begins with a restaurant group in Raleigh, N.C. At the time, the company ran a string of Darryl's restaurants - a place that looked a lot like Applebee's, only with a little more variety and flair - a group of 11 Pizza Inns, and the Angus Barn. General Mills swooped in and bought the pizza places and family restaurant business and Broome got a chance to work for a large restaurant corporation.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 3,926 Reads 32 Shares
This month I complete the discussion of Selling Skill #3. These three skills, essential for making new franchise sales, are part of my book, "Grow to Greatness: How to build a world-class franchise system faster" - and are appropriate for both new and emerging franchisors, as well as experienced sales pros seeking to brush up on their skills and/or improve the performance of their sales staff.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,919 Reads 49 Shares
One of the highlights each year at Franchise Update's Leadership & Development Conference is the presentation of the new Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR). The 2010 AFDR gathered responses from 116 of the franchisors who attended this year's conference. Participants represented 38,800 units (28,300 franchised, 4,600 company-owned, and 5,900 international), and they plan to add 5,360 more franchised units this year through 3,400 franchisees.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,946 Reads 1 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that submissions for the 2010 Multi-Unit Franchisee "Top 99" lists are being accepted through Friday, Nov. 20, 2009.
  • Press Release
  • 3,511 Reads 16 Shares
After graduating from the University of Maine, Michael Kern landed jobs at top advertising agencies including Young & Rubicam and McCann Erickson. He later held top marketing jobs for KFC and Long John Silver's, at one point serving as worldwide chief marketing officer for Long John Silver's.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 4,213 Reads 10 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that submissions for the 2010 Multi-Unit Franchisee "Top 99" lists are being accepted through Friday, Nov. 13, 2009.
  • Press Release
  • 3,845 Reads
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Social media, social networking, social marketing, social recruiting. Whatever you call these new connectivity platforms, they're sweeping the business world in 2009--much as the Internet and World Wide Web did circa 1995. Everybody wants in on the action, but no one is quite sure how. Okay, maybe some people know. We asked a few--and went online (of course) to find out more. We also pulled a few thoughts from "The Long Tail," a book by [i]Wired[/i] magazine Editor Chris Anderson on how Web 2.0 and social media have transformed marketing and sales.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,077 Reads 4 Shares
To be the best at what you do. To be the best in your market, your industry, your niche. To take your passion and build a business that excels in every way. To build teams, train managers, and win the loyalty of customers. To gain recognition and win awards from your franchisors. And to provide for your family and build a life--and a business you can pass on to your children. All these goals and more are what drive multi-unit franchisees to dominate. In our annual "Dominators" issue, we feature six operators what drives them. Here's a "sneak preview."
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,586 Reads 9 Shares
Last month we discussed the first of the three key selling skills involved in effectively selling new franchises--and how they apply in good economies and bad.
  • Steve Olson
  • 5,236 Reads
The economy hasn't been the only problem wreaking havoc across the nation. Most cities are also reporting a disturbing trend of crime increases that experts tie to rising unemployment and a pattern of thefts called organized retail crime (a.k.a. organized retail theft). Beyond the convenience store "beer runs" and juvenile candy grabs, prosecutors and retailers alike are feeling the impact of retail theft groups targeting specific merchandise--not for personal use, but for resale through household sales, community swap meets, flea markets, or most commonly, over the Internet through one of the large online auction sites or community resale forums.
  • Rollie Trayte and Gary Widman
  • 5,824 Reads
The big multi-unit rollers who convened in Vegas this April represented more than $1.6 billion in annual revenues, and they were playing to win. It was all part of the 2009 Multi-Unit Franchising conference, sponsored by Franchise Update Media Group this past April 15-17 at the Bellagio hotel. The annual event, which attracted a record 500-plus multi-unit franchisees, franchisors, and vendors from across the country, was a sure bet for attendees.
  • Kerry Pipes and Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,792 Reads 85 Shares
It seems there really is a silver lining in every cloud. And the recent economic downturn has deposited a little of that silver at the feet of some multi-unit franchisees who can tolerate risk and don't mind a little "remodeling" work. Today, opportunities abound to buy distressed franchise units from other troubled or bankrupt franchisees--often for pennies on the dollar. If they have the stomach, these "rescuers" can snatch up these units, turn them around, and watch the dollars flow in.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 7,918 Reads 2 Shares
Even in tough economic times, franchisors are stepping up and giving back to causes and organizations they - and their franchisees - believe in. Many of these activities fall under the radar, displaced by news and events deemed more immediate or important. What could be more important than raising money and donating time to help those in need, especially when budgets are pinched and time is at a premium? That's why we're taking the time to recognize our contemporary heroes.
  • Franchise Update
  • 3,493 Reads 1 Shares
Savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy. Each month FUSR will bring you good news, highlighting brands that are bucking the trend by adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as you'll see below, U.S. franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion while the domestic economy remains slow.
  • Franchise Update
  • 5,788 Reads 93 Shares
On September 1, the SBA announced revisions in its Standard Operating Procedure for financing of goodwill in resale transactions under its 7(a) program. The changes, which take effect October 1st, supersede revisions made in March that limited the amount of goodwill financing for resales to $250,000 or 50 percent of the loan amount, whichever was lower.
  • Franchise Update
  • 4,804 Reads 20 Shares
2008 was a big year for restaurant franchises to refranchise many of their corporate-owned units, according to a recent report from food service consultants Technomic. Top brands such as Applebee's, Pizza Hut, and KFC converted stores to franchisee operations.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 3,761 Reads 60 Shares
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I know few people who had money-making investments in 2008. On the flip side, I know many whose portfolios technically beat their respective benchmarks. In a rising market (like that experienced in 1999), beating the benchmark would have been considered a badge of honor--providing ample bragging rights on the golf course and around the dinner table. However, having relatively "less loss" in a down market isn't exactly considered a wonderful experience for most of today's investors.
  • Carol Clark
  • 3,809 Reads 16 Shares
Tony Lutfi came to California when he was 16, a Palestinian-Jordanian immigrant looking for a better life. He dreamed of growing up, getting an education, and becoming a doctor. To earn some money, he took a job working the graveyard shift at a Jack in the Box. Then fate stepped in. "The manager had a heart attack, and they promoted me. I helped the management team in the summer after I graduated from high school," says Lutfi. "It became my passion. I never went back to school, and I was promoted at Jack in the Box."
  • John Carroll
  • 7,989 Reads 675 Shares
Starting up a new company is risky business, even in a healthy economy. Despite the troubles and fears that have plagued the economy and business world in the past year, many new franchise concepts have hung out shingles, and others that were just barely off the ground are thriving today.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 8,150 Reads 1 Shares
Thomas "Tab" Broome got an early start in the franchise business, going to work for a restaurant group in Raleigh, N.C., about 30 years ago. At the time, the company ran a string of Darryl's restaurants (which looked a lot like Applebee's, only with a little more variety and flair), a group of 11 Pizza Inns, and The Angus Barn steakhouses. General Mills swooped in and bought the pizza places and family restaurant business, and Broome got a chance to work for a large restaurant corporation.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,449 Reads 1 Shares
Everybody loves lists. Whether it's a year-end "best of" list in the entertainment world or a list of business-performance rankings, we see them everywhere. Lists give us insight and a benchmark for all kinds of comparisons. Readers continue to tell us that the lists found in the pages of Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine each issue are informative--and sometimes provocative--and provide a perspective that often allows for self-assessment and operational adjustments.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 10,871 Reads 1,023 Shares
Joe Drury's personal history reads like a rags-to-riches movie script. Born in Canton, Ohio, he was on his own at 14 and "chose to survive," he says. "Everything I did, I attacked it like it was my last meal." He started out working in a Wendy's. He excelled and worked his way into the corporate office, where his mentor and "best friend," Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, taught him everything he knew about running a franchise and being a successful franchisee. He rose to vice president of operations at Wendy's, but left the company in the early 1990s to form the Carolina Restaurant Group, which bought 26 distressed Wendy's restaurants. By 2000, that number was up to 100 and sales had risen significantly.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 11,915 Reads 11 Shares
John Hotchkiss was born in Pontiac, Mich., and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. But he likes to say he "was born" into franchising. "I started working in our stores when I was 9 years old and really enjoyed it. I learned in high school that it was a good business to own when I came home exhausted from a crazy, busy night at one of our stores and my dad was relaxing and reading a book on the back porch," he recalls. "He had 700-plus employees working hard that night making him money.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 11,229 Reads 1 Shares
New franchise concepts spring up every year with dreams of becoming the next McDonald's or Subway. But it's the older brands who deserve a tip of the hat for their staying power over the decades. We asked four of them how they do it.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,527 Reads 30 Shares
Jett Mehta knew early in his life that franchising would be a good fit for him. "I grew up in the business," says Mehta. "My dad is a Ponderosa franchisee and was the largest franchisee in the country at one point. He was investing in multi-family real estate and got into the restaurant business in the '80s. When I finished school I hooked up with him." It wasn't long before Mehta drew up some ambitious plans of his own. First came a motel deal, and then the food industry beckoned.
  • John Carroll
  • 11,928 Reads
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